Thursday, January 5, 2012

Marcona Almond-Sea Salt Toffee

I've tried making toffee before...and failed. Miserably. Twice. I'm not sure if it was the recipe, or my skill set, but it made me very sad.

So, this time, I used the toffee recipe from Sweet Confections and guess what?!? It worked like a charm!

{The only bad part; we gave most of it away. Sad face.}

Can we talk about Marcona almonds for a minute? If you've never had them, let me describe. Imagine crunchy little nuggets of salted butter. Yep, that's pretty much it.

One of the grocery stores near me sells them in the bulk section...the other has them with the deli cheeses. They're pricey, but oh-so-worth-it. Try a few plain with a clementine for an afternoon snack. Heaven.

I finally realized this year why my toffee never turned out...I let it get too hot. This year, I took it off at 300 degrees and ended up with some amazing deliciousness. Marcona almonds? YUM! Looking forward to try this one!

Marcona almonds are one of the best inventions of all man kind! Remember how we talked about those rosemary ones from TJ's (the ones I forgot to bring you at Girlhunter ;) ADDICTIVE!!Covered in toffee & chocolate - even better. But you all ready knew that. XXOO

I've made toffee before, but it was in one of my food science courses in college, and the professor was the "candy expert." We made a whole table of toffee! A little afraid to try it at home, but it is on my list of things to make...

Bridget, could you share a bit more on your candy thermometer experiences? I had one that I used to make caramels with a couple times, and it worked quite well. Then a year later, this past Christmas, I used it to make fudge and it went quite wrong.

I tried calibrating it in boiling water and found that it was 10 degrees off. Next time I suppose I should calibrate BEFORE using it! Live and learn!

Anyway, I just purchased the one you mentioned, and will try out this toffee once it arrives. Looks amazing!

I am so glad you didn't tell me you were doing this before. I would have been fishing for sympathy scraps! I LOVE toffee! But I like it best when someone makes it for me. I have as much with toffee as cakes!

Looks delicious, I've only had toffee once or twice actually, i'm little intimidated by it but maybe I can finally give it go, THANKS YOU TO. THanks for the recipe. Now my worry is that I will eat it all before it becomes a gift for somebody.

Let me see now~I need a candy thermometer and offset spatula.I've never ever heard of Marcona almonds~Where have I been?My Daddy would crown me his favorite child if I made this and sent it to Alabama for his birthday!We'll have to chat about it being good to ship or not.I wonder if Kristan got any of this toffee?She's so LUCKY to live right next door to YOU!Does she ever come over and just hang and watch you do your thang in the kitchen? ;)It would be so convenient if I lived next door~being that I'm your AGENT and all! ;)Any~who~zee~wee~zee...this toffee looks BEYOND amazing!I think I need to PIN THIS!!!!!!! ;)xoxoxo

This looks so GOOD! I've never even heard of the Marcona almonds..but as my hubby loves almonds, I've gotta find some! The fun thing is i can actually try this recipe. I'm no longer in fear of the candy thermometer..and it only took 47 years;) ( I made my first ever successful batch of marshmallows on my last birthday) Thanks for posting yet another wonderful recipe :o)

The best way to make good toffee is to calibrate your candy thermometer. Boil some water and stick it in. If you haven't used it in awhile, you should do it again, they can change over time. If there is any offset, keep it in mind-pull the toffee early or late.

Holy smokes this looks awesome. Definitely going on the top of my list. LOVE marcona almonds! I ask everyone I know that goes to Spain to bring them back for me. They are really good from the source, but thankfully they are easier to find in supermarkets here now.

Whoa, Bridget! This looks pretty amazing. I love these photos too--you managed to make every process shot completely intoxicating. Really gorgeous work, and yes, I will be making this (I love, love toffee of any kind!). Happy 2012! xo